Slashdot Mirror
Bahrain's ISPs Must Block Google Earth
Bashar writes "A Bahraini newspaper reported today that Bahrain government, following the block of nude sites, have instructed all ISPs to block the Google Earth service, making them one of the few countries worldwide to block a major Google service that is used around the globe, and proving very effective. Here is the same news source, translated by Google to English."
What exactly is the problem with Google Earth? I mean, nude sites, as stupid as it is to block them, at least have some moral backing. Are they just trying to convince everyone that the world is flat or something?
Partial Credit: The Engineer's Best friend
"Well, the bridge didn't fall all the way down!"
Just replace "internet blocking" with "Islam"
but why is the bahraini government doing this? are they scared people are going to use google earth to zoom in on paris hilton's naked follies? or are there other reasons, like "national security"?
One must wonder what kind of motivation a government would have to shut down something so useful. Is people not being lost all the time somehow beneficial to those in power? This makes no sense at all.
This can mean only one thing... Baharain has a democratic form of government!
Good thing they translated it to english, or else I was screwed!
government webpage turned off too
Here is bahrain on the maps.google.com maps.
They're worried about someone using Google Earth to look right smack down on any nude beach in the world. They can relax; anyone who tried it would get massive headaches from the eyestrain because the resolution just isn't there. Not that I tried to do that or anything...
This space intentionally left (almost) blank.
They block web porn and Google Earth, but tolerate Michael Jackson? Oh yeah, I fogot he was acquitted...
In the past governments have claimed services such as Google Earth compromise national security by making it possible to see aerial details of restricted areas/buildings that people would not have as easy access to without the service. I think that is bollocks since such details are always available from other sources...
Meh, their loss.
Seriously, why is this a problem for anyone outside of Bahrain? If they want to remain stupid and ignorant, I say let them.
"My God...it's full of trolls!"
If you're like me and don't know where Bahrain is, you will be happy that Google has not returned the favor.
makes me wonder what the government of bahrain doesn't want the people of bahrain to see?
hmmmmm
This space intentionally left (almost) blank.
Google has been trying to pull a fast one on us with this google earth thing. You can't side step this, you're either a flat eather or you aren't. It's clear which side this government is on.
Now it's time for you to pick sides.
Unfortunately the only people on a nude beach large enough to see from a satellite are, well, large.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
Eventually, though, these Flat Earth Society people are going to have to give up and admit that the world is round.
- RG>
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
So who lives here?1 433,50.411797&spn=0.004102,0.005461
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&om=1&t=k&ll=26.17
I don't see any nudes around the pool.
Because it encourages other governments to "harmonise" to Bahraini law. Remember that harmonisation is how the US got the Bono Act and how Australia got counterparts to the Bono Act and the DMCA.
What they don't want you to see:4 451,50.599251&spn=0.003012,0.005032
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&om=1&t=k&ll=26.23
But isn't this the country that Michael Jackson moved to after his trail in California? That would explain a few things.
Here:
http://cdn.maximonline.com/maximusa/index.html
(google earth:)
-115.3829811832588
35.62000012441331
60.83465853476389
-3.743328418621198e-009
-0.0006229266229549453
"Fix it"
If he is caught there doing it again, no child will ever have to worry about that again. Now, I just wish that they punished cowards, liars, and traitors in the same fashion. Then we could send bush and his cronies.
that's my guess, a variation of the honeypot. They don't care about the vast bulk of the public seeing the maps, but they need a little winnowing action. They are interested in just a few people who REALLY want/need to see some critical features using the maps. the government there considers those folks "persons of interest". They are trolling for those guys to take the bait and try to circumvent their way to those maps.
Granted, still lame, ways around it, etc, but it is still my guess. Governments/regimes feeling threatened (or even think they are threatened) tend to throw various crap at the walls to see what sticks, even if 99% doesn't. This is a fishing expedition, not a censorship move..
Speculation at the Bahraini Blog Mahmood's Den (No link provided; google him if you're interested... I like him too much to slashdot) speculate that either the governement there doesn't want the people to see how much prime real-estate has confiscated... It has als obeen claimed that one person put anti-government / misleading labels on all the palaces (there are like five or more, I believe)which pissed off some royal type. Mahmoud included directions on how to get around the blocking, though, being the good guy that he is...
Bahrain is a fairly pleasant place, progressive for the most part. A major base for the US Navy 5th fleet is there. Slashdot admins have the place blacklisted though, for some reason... I could only post as AC when I was there, even after I wrote them about it. Oh well.
Because there's an imminent threat of attack from its own citizens?
Not right at the moment, but I'd agree that blocking GE isn't going to slow them down. The Sheik and his family are Sunni, while the majority of Bahrainis are Shia. For years, the Shia perceived that they weren't getting a fair shake from the sheik, and the revolution in Iran didn't help. The opposition has been coopted to some degree by the introduction of a two house Parliment and regular elections (The GE closing may be a result of conservative morality agenda w/in the lower house, which also led to blocked porn sites). However, this is offset to some degree by the Sheik's long standing policies to assist the US in the Gulf, which aren't popular with most citizens.
Luke, help me take this mask off
I want larger-than-life views on the highest resolution monitor I can buy. About 4x larger than life should do; I don't require a microscope.
We get to control latitude, longitude, and zoom. I also want to control at least two angles (compass direction and the elevation above the horizon) and time. It's important to have the old data too, so I can see who shot JFK.
To make things easier, I need automatic object tracking. I'll choose an object, like your car, and get video that follows it. Time could be normal, slow motion, fast motion, or reverse. I'll need the slow motion to follow bullets as they fly through the air.
I especially need an option to remove layers that get in the way. With one click, the clouds and atmospheric haze go away. With another click, the rooftops go away. With yet another click, clothes come off. Then the skin, fat, muscle, etc. Being able to remove the ocean water layer is definitely a requirement.
The map needs to be well-integrated with search of course. Google is the King of Search, and thus should be able to find the King of Rock 'n' Roll even if he's being held underground by the CIA.
In Texas lawmakers outlawed web-based aerial photography and floor plans/appraisal information with senate bill 541. That is aerial photography of a certain resolution (depicts http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/79R/billtext/SB 00541F.HTM
This was, I think, in response to a string of burglaries in Houston where it was discovered that criminals picked targets and planned routes / optimized thievery based on aerial photos and floor plans.
I would've just stopped showing the floor plans.
Perhaps Bahrain is similarly misguided.
It's possible to tunnel Google Earth's data exchanges around whatever they're blocking?
They want to stop someone in particular from looking at nude beaches. Too much of a temptation, I guess.
Bahrain is a relatively small country. How difficult might it be to stitch together the whole of the surrounding area from Google Maps or Earth, save it as a massive JPG or PNG, and mirror it around the net a bit? If that'd be too massive, a video clip of someone zooming around the whole area could also work.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
I tried looking at several beaches in Florida. When you zoom in that close to the beach, the picture becomes washed out at the edge of the beach and water because of the amount of sun reflection.
It would be impossible to see anyone.
Nathan
Relevant Perry Bible Fellowship strip
I was always under the impression that eather was gaseous, and in no way connected with my personal physical form...
it could be that they dont want people knowing there is an easy way to escape where they are.
portfolio